Reciprocating internal combustion (IC) engines are known for converting chemical energy, stored in a fuel supply, into mechanical shaft power. A fuel-oxidizer mixture is received in a variable volume of an IC engine defined by a piston translating within a cylinder bore. The fuel-oxidizer mixture burns inside the variable volume to convert chemical energy from the mixture into heat. In turn, expansion of the combustion products within the variable volume performs work on the piston, which may be transferred to an output shaft of the IC engine.
Engines may include one or more fluid sub-systems, such as, lubrication systems, hydraulic systems, coolant systems, fuel systems, or combinations thereof. Filtration structures and methods have been employed in engine fluid sub-systems to remove debris from fluids contained therein.
US Patent Publication No. 2015/0014254 (the '254 publication), titled “Method and System for Cleaning Degraded Oil,” purports to address the problem of cleaning degraded oil comprising oil-soluble degradation products. The '254 publication describes a system for cleaning degraded oil including a recirculation branch where a cooler is arranged downstream of a filter, and precipitation by cooling is performed by mixing the degraded oil with recirculated cooled oil at a recombination point.
However, the system of the '254 publication may be too bulky and expensive for use in some applications. Accordingly, there is a need for improved fluid conditioning systems to address the aforementioned problems and/or other problems in the art.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created to aid the reader, and is not a concession that any of the indicated problems were themselves known previously in the art.